Is food from a sit down restaurant even worse than fast food?

Question

I used to think that fast food was the worst because most of it has between 300-900 calories, but the meals at sit down restaurants that seem to be healthy..im finding out have between 1000-2000 calories (from the meals with calorie content low enough to actually be listed online) which is just insaine!! Are you better off just getting that not so healthy, "healthy meal" from a fast food restaurant than something from a sit down restaurant?

Or..should I just not eat at all when I get invited out?

Answer 1

You will probably intake more calories from a sit down restaurant. Usually you get a salad with dressing, maybe an appetizer, then your meal. The food tastes better at sit downs because they use butter more than the fast food joints. There is nothing wrong with going to a restaurant and order a nice grilled chicken or steak salad and asking for the dressing on the side, so you can control the caloric intake from the dressing. Don't be afraid to go out and eat. It sounds like you think there is nothing to eat when going out. This is not the case at all. It is true what you said about the "lite" offerings that some places have on the menu about being pretty high in calories. But just make wise choices like broiling instead of other ways of preparing food. Cut back on what you eat the rest of the day if you know you are going out to eat. Or just do a few more minutes of exercise to burn the extra calories. Life is too short to not enjoy what you eat.

Answer 2

A lot of restaurants will give you the option of ordering a "lunch portion" of a regular entree—it's not usually on the menu, but the waitstaff will be able to help you. The price is cheaper & you get less food than you would with a bigger entree.. not to mention less calories.

Answer 3

Good Point. But things like a hamburgers, chicken Alfredo,and veil Parmesan.  Will be found at sit-down restaurants, but they are not healthier. But when you go places like to Chili's or Friday's etc.. you can have grilled salmon, or orange chicken salad, these things are very healthy,and you cannot get them at a fast food place.(Mc Donalds, and Burger King's salads actually have as much calories as a Big Mac.) Also meals at sit down restaurants, may have equal or less calories, the typicaly have much less Trans fat, saturated fat,  Sodium, and calories from fats.

So when you go out, just eat the "healthy stuff" and enjoy yourself.

Answer 4

I thnk that antelope daddy - also, please check every page more carefully next time before baking stuff. You can't go wrong that way!

Answer 5

It can be...try cooking at home

Answer 6

eating out is just bad where ever it is, other then maybe subway. Calorie wise fast food can be less but its all frozen, processed nasty c**p, its just discusting! Some resturants will have fresh food with out adding alot of preservatives and stuff so health wise that would be better but both ways are pretty unhealthy however applebees has a weight watchers menu and the food is decent....still processed though. I dunno Id eat at home if your that concerned with it. Buy a Calorie King calorie counter it has all the major fast food and resturant chains

Answer 7

The issue when sitting at a proper restaurant is that the chef makes the menu solely with regard to taste and flavor in most restaurants, and they are not obligated to post nutritional information.  Also, menus change with the seasons as ingredients change.  If you are looking for a lower calorie meal at a restaurant, order things that are grilled and steamed, and always always always order everything with dressing and sauce on the side.

Answer 8

The problem you have here is you are only looking at just calories as a source of how healthy food is. Calories are just a small part of what makes food healthy. The more important thing you should really look at are fat content and the nutritional content of the food.